The Forgotten Child
by living-daydreams
Summary: Julie Taylor's life is changing. With her father having taken a new job coaching at TMU in Austin and her mother expecting another baby, where does that leave her? And just how is Julie's antics really affecting Tami? A story about how one family can overcome any hardship thrown at them, so long as they stick together and remember the love they have for one another.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone! So this is my first ever story for Friday Night Lights (Grey's Anatomy has been my normal stomping grounds for writing), since I only really got into the show a couple of weeks ago. Basically, I have found like my 37th spirit animal in Tami Taylor, and her relationship with Julie, specifically in seasons 1 and 2, is really intriguing to me for some reason. So I came up with this fic. It'll be pretty short - most likely 5 chapters or less - but I just couldn't get the idea out of my head. It takes place between seasons 1 and 2 when Tami is pregnant with Gracie. I hope you enjoy! And if you have any other ideas for FNL fics I could write please let me know! Thanks for reading! :) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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**Chapter 1**

"I had a doctor's appointment, Julie, I'm sorry if I can't make it to every single one of your dance recitals!"

"You know what, Mom, just forget it. It's not like it was that important anyway." Julie stomps down the hall toward her room.

Tami sighs exasperatedly before placing a hand on her six month (and growing) pregnant belly. She had neglected to tell Julie she wouldn't be able to make it to her dance recital today because of her six month check-up. Then again, Julie hasn't exactly been open about her life to Tami lately either; it's like she expects everything but communicates nothing. So there you go.

Tami flinches at the slam of Julie's bedroom door before following her down the hall.

"Now just hang on a minute, honey, do not shut me out here," Tami opens the door without knocking.

"Knock much?" Julie snaps.

"Julie," Tami gives her a look, placing her hands on her hips. "What is the matter with you?"

"Me? What's the matter with me?"

"I don't see anyone else in the room."

"Nothing. Nothing is the matter with me. Don't worry about it. Now, if you don't mind I have a term paper due on Friday, so…" Julie gestures toward the door.

"Oh no, you're not getting rid of me that easily young lady. I don't like this new attitude of yours and I wanna know what's gotten into you. I know your dad's away in Austin…"

"Okay seriously Mom this has nothing to do with Dad – "

"Oh really? So the fact that you started acting all mean and nasty to me right after he left is just coincidence is it?"

"Guess it is," Julie shrugs.

"Well if you don't want to tell me what's going on with you I would very much appreciate it if you would stop takin' it out on me."

"Taking what out on you?" Julie asks innocently.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talkin' about, Julie," Tami gives her a look.

Julie stares back at her in silence.

"Fine," Tami drops her hands in defeat. "I give up. I can't _make_ you talk to me. But I am sorry; I couldn't reschedule the appointment because my doctor goes on vacation next week."

"Well you should have tried anyway," Julie mutters.

"I know, and I'm sorry. And I'm sorry your dad couldn't be here either. I'm just really sorry, Julie."

"Whatever. Dad's too busy coaching in Austin to think about me," Julie's voice drops. "Can you just leave me alone now, please?"

"Alright," Tami sighs. "Don't stay up too late, you got school in the morning. Goodnight, sweetheart."

Julie doesn't respond, and as soon as her mother shuts the door she drops her head in her hands. She has great parents – she knows it and everyone else knows it. They do the best they can, and have always provided her with what she needed. And a new baby, that's supposed to be a good thing, right? If everything were normal now, the answer would be yes.

But Julie Taylor's family is far from normal.

Her father, Eric Taylor, was for the past year the head coach for the Dillon High School varsity football team. Until of course he took the job offered to him by TMU to coach their quarterback a few months ago; coaching college football has always been her father's dream, Julie knows that, but she never expected it to be the thing that forced him to move 200 miles away from his family, and make Julie miss him more than she ever thought possible.

Her mother, Tami, is the guidance counselor at Dillon, which just so happens to be Julie's high school as well. Basically, she goes to school with her parents. Never mind her dad moving 200 miles away to coach, seeing her parents at school all the time in and of itself makes the Taylor family not normal.

Now imagine bringing a baby into the picture. A baby who's not only about 15 years younger than Julie, but also has both of her parents wrapped around her little finger already. Even when her father's home, everything's about the baby; they never do anything just the two of them anymore, and Julie missed that.

So where does this leave her?

Taking out her school books, Julie leans back on her bed against the headboard and sighs, trying to read in the hopes that it'll take her mind off of her mother and how much her missing the recital actually hurt her. She knows she should just tell her mom that instead of turning into a brat about it, but for some reason shutting her out is just easier. After all, her mom has enough on her plate with her husband living in Austin and being pregnant and all.

Before long, Julie finds herself waking up. It's still dark outside and her books lay sprawled across her chest. She must have fallen asleep by accident. Looking over at the nightstand, Julie notices the time: 1:36am.

"Shoot," she groans, sitting up.

Walking toward the door, she opens it slowly. The rest of the house is dark; naturally, her mother would be in bed by now. Julie hears the rustling of sheets from across the hall. Peering through cracked door, her suspicions were correct. Tami lay fast asleep on her side, one arm cradling her stomach.

Right away Julie notices the empty right side of the bed; it's moments like these, as she watches her mother sleep, that make it seem as though she will never get used to her father being gone.

Before she even realizes she's crying, Julie wipes a couple stray tears from her cheeks. Really, she wants nothing more than to crawl into bed next to her mother and cry, letting Tami hold her and tell everything's going to be okay. But Julie is far more stubborn than that. She doesn't need her mother. She can get through this on her own.

Well, kind of.

Tip-toeing back to her room, Julie pulls out a bag, throwing on a sweater and packing some extra clothes and bus money. Tying her long hair back into a bun, she picks up her bag and heads for the front door.

She misses her dad. She misses the connection they had. And she's tired of feeling like a thorn in her mother's side, having things like dance recitals get in the way of doctor's appointments for the baby.

She has to get out of Dillon.

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**Let me know if you want me to continue! I have chapter 2 and half of 3 written already so it shouldn't be too long before an update. Thanks again for reading and reviews are always welcome :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you all for the lovely responses to my story :) Here is chapter 2 for you, hope you like!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Although I'm starting to wish I did.**

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**Chapter 2**

Two hours later, Julie sits on the bus, shivering and resting her head against the window. It's 4:30am, and she's about 20 miles away from Austin. Shouldn't be too much longer now. Normally on a long road trip Julie would try to sleep, but now she's far too shaken up; she's never exactly run away from home before.

"Attention passengers, we should be arriving in Austin in about 15 minutes. Please gather any belongings you may have." The husky voice of the bus driver comes over the intercom.

Julie takes a deep breath and holds on to her bag tighter. The quiet sound of her Jack Johnson album plays through her iPod headphones, the music an attempt to keep her calm. She wonders if her mother's noticed her gone yet.

Ha, yeah right. Who is she kidding?

Once off the bus, Julie avoids all eye contact with anyone. She's only been to Austin once since her father moved, and she's racking her brain to remember the name of the street his apartment is on. In her haste to leave the house, she forgot to write it down.

"Oh what's the name?" She whispers to herself, trying to hail a taxi to the best of her small-town-girl ability.

Suddenly, a cab pulls up, driven by a tough looking woman with a big build and greying hair. A true Texan in female form, Julie thought to herself.

"Can I help you, miss?" The driver asks in a deep southern drawl, rolling down the window.

"Um," Julie stammers.

"Well you might as well say yes. Can't have you walkin' around downtown alone in the middle of the night."

"Oh-okay, thank you," Julie nods, opening the passenger door and sliding into the back seat.

"You got anything besides the backpack?" The driver asks.

"Um, no ma'am, I don't. I'm just going to see my dad."

"Well alright then, where to?"

"I actually, I'm not really sure," Julie mutters. "It's, it's 1064 something and I can't, I don't remember the name."

The driver turns around to look at her. Julie bites her lower lip and looks down.

"Hmm, well addresses that low tend to be closer to downtown. That sound about right?"

Julie thinks; yes, her father's apartment is almost right downtown.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Okay then," the driver pulls away from the curb.

The entire ride over just seems long and Julie feels like she has no idea what she's doing anymore. Even when she finds her father's apartment building, what is he going to do when he sees her? He'll probably yell at her for leaving home without Tami's knowledge, in the middle of the night for that matter. Or maybe he'll be happy to see her, who knows. Anything is possible.

"Anything lookin' familiar yet?" The driver asks.

"Kind of," Julie nods, staring out the window. "It's a tall building, like, apartments."

"Oh wait, I think I know where you're talkin' about. Hold on we're almost there."

"Oh, wow, okay thank you!" Julie attempts a smile, grateful at least someone in this car knows their way around Austin.

"How much do I owe you?" She asks, once they're stopped in front of her dad's building.

"That'll be five dollars."

"Really? Only five?"

"Honey we only went three miles," the driver chuckles.

"Oh, well okay then. Thank you so much," Julie hands her a five and climbs out of the car.

"Well, this is it," she whispers to herself, standing in front of the building.

After some searching, Julie finds herself in front of her father's front door. Naturally he would be asleep since it's 4:30 in the morning. Pulling a bobby pin out from her pocket, Julie beings to pick at the front door lock. Once inside, she holds her breath in case an alarm goes off, or by some chance her dad is awake.

Nothing happens. Inside is just a dark living room. Before even wandering down the hall to her dad or around the apartment, Julie sets her bag down and falls into the couch cushions. Soon she's turning onto her side to lie down, realizing how tired she actually is.

Pushing the thoughts of what would happen the following morning out of her head, she closes her eyes; not long after, falling asleep.

* * *

Rolling over and groaning, Tami looks at her nightstand. It's a little after five in the morning. The baby turns over a couple times in her stomach, making it clear that her mother wouldn't be getting much more sleep tonight. That, along with the spat with Julie last night will keep Tami awake for the rest of the morning.

"Ugh, don't do this to me baby," she sighs. "I already have one daughter drivin' me up a wall, I don't need another."

Sitting up slowly, she pads into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water and think about Julie. Her, well now oldest, daughter had always been such a good, sweet kid. And yet after Eric took the job in Austin and they found out about the baby, Julie stopped…well she stopped being _Julie_. Snapping all the time, staying out too late, it's all so unlike her, and now Tami's at a loss of what to do; it's not as if Eric's job or this baby can just go away.

Turning her head toward the refrigerator, Tami's eyes land on a photo, one of her favorite photos of herself, her husband and daughter. Taken after Eric's first win as coach of the Panthers, the three of them all looked so happy so content with their new lives in Dillon. Now if only they could get back to that. Well, as best they can.

Setting down her glass, Tami heads back down the hall, except this time stopping at the door across from her own bedroom. She has no intention of waking Julie, just to sit on her bed and watch her sleep, like she used to do when her daughter was small.

However, as soon as she pushes open the door (as quietly as possible, mind you), she notices her daughter is, in fact, not in her bed. Her bed remains unkempt, yet un-slept in.

"Jules?" Tami asks, looking around.

"Julie, you in here?" She walks back out into the hall, peering into the bathroom and back in the living room. Her daughter is nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, please no," Tami pleads, heading back into Julie's room. The baby does another flip in her stomach and she has to swallow a wave of nausea. "Julie, where are you?"

She flips through the various papers and what not left strewn over Julie's bed. The first thing she notices after looking around though is Julie's missing backpack and sweater that she normally takes to school.

"Oh God," she chokes, realizing that her daughter is in fact not home.

Even though her first thought should have been to call someone here in Dillon, or even the police, as soon as Tami races back into the kitchen and picks up the phone the first person she dials is her husband.

"Come on, come on, honey pick up," she taps her fingers on the counter top frantically as the phone rings on the other side. After four rings, she hears a muffled "mmm…hello?"

"Eric! Eric, honey wake up!"

"Huh…Tami, what is it? What's wrong?" Rubbing his eyes, Eric sits up in bed.

"It's, it's Julie, she's missing!"

"Whoa, whoa…_what?!_"

"She was in her room, she was in her room when I went to bed last night I don't…I don't know when she left but I couldn't sleep so I went to check on her just now and…and she's gone!"

"That's not like Julie, she wouldn't just leave like that. Did you get into a fight?"

"Oh God, I missed her recital yesterday because of a doctor's appointment I couldn't reschedule and she was mad at me and…this is all my fault."

"No, no it most certainly is not all your fault," Eric stands up, now wide awake and wishing he were back in Dillon with his wife. "I'm gonna hang up and you call everyone you can in town; maybe she went over to Saracen's house."

"Oh-okay, but should I call the police?"

"Not yet. Find out if anyone we know has seen her, then if not we'll take the necessary measures, okay?"

"Okay," Tami sniffs. "I'll call the Saracens first. I'll keep you posted."

"Alright. And babe?"

"Yeah?" Tami wipes a tear from her cheek.

"I love you. Everything's gonna be okay. I'll let you know if I hear anything."

"Okay. And I love you too, honey. Bye."

"Bye." Sighing, Eric flips his phone shut, immediately dressing and packing a bag to drive back to Dillon. Forget practice; if Julie was missing there was no way he could stay in Austin.

"Julie, why would you do this?" He mutters to himself, grabbing his keys from the dresser and heading out to the living room to grab his jacket. However, as soon as he crosses the threshold from the hallway, he notices someone – someone familiar – curled up in a ball, fast asleep on his couch.

Just the person they're looking for. Julie.

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**Chapter 3 to come soon :) Reviews are most welcome.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello friends! So this was pretty much my biggest epic fail of the year - not the story but the huuuge gap in updates! Firstly I was finishing my junior year of college, and then I've been busy working on my Grey's fic that I'm now almost done with. Sorry about that! But here's the third and final chapter for you :) Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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**Chapter 3**

"Austin? She's in _Austin?_" Tami asks her husband in disbelief over the phone only moments after Eric found her curled up asleep on his couch.

"Apparently, since she's asleep right on my couch. How she got here I have no idea; I haven't woken her up yet."

Tami takes in a deep breath, both in shock and relieved by her daughter's whereabouts.

"I'm not even sure I wanna know how she got here," Eric stands in the kitchen, speaking quietly into the phone and stealing the occasional glance at his still-sleeping daughter.

"Neither do I," Tami paces around the living room, running a hand through her hair. "Eric…what if she…she could have gotten hurt!" Tami chokes.

"I know, I know, but she's here, she's fine. I'll wake her up as soon as we hang up."

"I'm going to Austin."

"What? No, babe, don't do that. I'll bring her home."

"No, I have to. She obviously came to you for a reason and I think the last thing she's gonna want is to be dragged back to Dillon as soon as she wakes up."

Eric sighs into the phone.

"I just don't like the idea of you travelin' alone, is all."

"Well while I appreciate your concern honey, I'm coming, so y'all just sit tight. The both of us need to have a little talk with Miss Julie."

"Fine," Eric responds after a moment. "We'll be here."

"Honey?" Tami speaks quietly into the phone, now sitting on the couch resting her head on her free hand.

"Yeah?"

"Our little girl ran away."

"Yeah, she did. But she's here with me and she's safe. Just try to relax hon, and don't you dare drive too fast."

"I know, I know," Tami rubs her eyes. "I'll see you in a few hours."

"I love you, babe."

"I love you too."

Hanging up the phone, Tami leans back against the cushions, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that her daughter ran away. Julie – her always-sweet little girl who, let's face it, has not been so sweet lately. She wished with all her might that she could do something to help Julie; to let her know that she hasn't become a forgotten child. There are just some things going on, like Eric's job and the baby that make it so Julie can't always be the center of her parents' attention all the time.

But that doesn't mean they don't love her – Tami loves Julie more than anything else in the world; it's just now she seems to be having a tougher time showing it. And Julie seems to be having a tougher time noticing it.

Sitting up, Tami places a hand on her belly.

"Well baby, you and I are gonna go on a little road trip. I hope you know that I'll always love you, even when I or even your daddy make mistakes. Just…don't ever run away, okay?"

She wipes a couple more tears before getting up, making herself presentable enough for the long talk she's going to have with her daughter, three hours down the road.

* * *

"Julie?"

Julie stirs, only just remembering she's not sleeping in her own bed.

"Julie honey, wake up."

Uncurling slightly, Julie opens her eyes, only to find herself staring into the eyes of her father.

"Dad?"

"Well I don't know who else you were expecting to find here," Eric stands over her, hands on his hips and clearly unimpressed. "Now if you don't mind my asking, what in the hell were you thinking?"

Still trying to fully wake up and process that her father is standing over her, Julie sits up. It's six in the morning – she's only gotten about two hours of sleep.

"I…I guess I just–"

"You just what? Decided you'd scare your mother half to death last night?" Eric's voice is stern.

"Please don't yell at me," Julie whispers, looking down at her hands.

"I'll yell at you if I damn well please, Julie. You left home alone, and in the middle of the night I might add, and traveled three hours down the road. You could have been hurt, you could have been…well it doesn't matter. But the fact is you got lucky last night. Real lucky. And you best never do somethin' like this again; is that understood?" Eric gives his daughter a hard glare.

"Yes sir," Julie mutters, still refusing to look up at him.

"Okay," Eric exhales, sitting down next to Julie on the couch. "Lecture's over. Now you can tell me what's really been going on. Your mother says you've been acting up honey, and that's not like you. What's goin' on?"

"Oh so I guess since Mom's already told you everything about me then what I have to say won't even matter." Immediately Julie gets defensive, but it comes so easily to her now that she hardly even notices anymore.

"Now that's not true and you know it," her father turns to look at her. "I want you to tell me."

"I just," Julie starts, already feeling the lump build in her throat. "Everything's just changing so much, you know. Or has already changed, and there's nothing I can do about it and I don't…I know these are supposed to be good changes and we're supposed to make it work, but right now it doesn't _feel_ good Dad. It feels like my life is happening right before my eyes and I'm just sitting back and watching something play out that I don't want any part of." Julie's voice breaks.

"Mom missed my dance recital yesterday for a doctor's appointment, and…and I miss having you around at home, and I wish you had never taken that job here. Why couldn't you have just stayed with the Panthers?!"

"Honey-" Eric starts, but Julie interrupts him.

"And _why_ did you and Mom have to go and have another baby, huh? Why couldn't you have done that 10 years ago when I would ask you for a little sibling every day?! Now it's like Mom doesn't even have…"

"Mom doesn't have what?" Eric asks gently, but Julie withdraws, starting to cry.

"Julie why did you come to me last night? What happened with Mom that was so bad you couldn't have just called?" Eric wraps an arm around his daughter's shoulders.

For a moment Julie doesn't talk. Instead she wonders, should she tell her father how much she's really hurting? How difficult everything has been for her, and how she feels like no one really cares or has time for her? It's hard, keeping it all inside, but at the same time what good would it do to burden anyone else?

"Just tell me, sweetheart," her father kisses the side of her head, his kinder side coming out now.

"I'm just in the way," she mutters.

"In the way of what?"

"Of Mom!" Julie cries. "I mean she has this new baby coming and you're gone so she spends all her time either missing you or doing something for the baby, and I just feel like I'm in the way all the time, okay?"

"Have you told your mom that?"

"N-no," Julie stutters. "I didn't want to upset her."

"Honey, what's upsetting her is you shutting her out and snapping at her all the time. She _wants_ you to talk to her, and she _wants_ to be there; you just have to let her."

"I…I knew if I told you, you would just defend her," Julie tries to pull away but Eric wraps his arm around her tighter.

"I'm not defending anyone, I'm just sayin' any relationship, whether with a spouse, a sibling, a parent, anything, takes two to tango. You can't just shut out your mother and expect her to pull all the weight. Sooner or later things are gonna fall apart, just like you say they're doin' now."

Julie just nods against him.

"And don't you ever think that you're a burden on me or your mom. We're your parents and believe it or not we love you no matter what. Even if I am here in Austin most of the time and you're in Dillon, I'll always be here for you. Even after the baby's born. That won't change how much we love you, you got that?"

"Uh-huh," Julie sniffs. "I'm really sorry for scaring you, Daddy."

"That's alright. We can't think about what could have happened anymore because the point is it didn't. But like I said, don't you _ever_ pull something like this again."

"I won't. I promise," Julie wraps an arm around her father, hugging him tightly, remembering how protected she feels in his arms.

"I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too," Julie mutters into his shirt.

"I do have one more thing to tell you though," Eric says quietly.

"What is it?"

"Your mom called here once she realized you were gone, in a complete panic, at about 5 in the morning. Long story short I found you on the couch and told her you had come here, and I tried to talk her out of it, but she's comin' here too."

"_What?!"_ Julie sits up, surprised.

"What did you expect, Julie? You take off and then she finds out where you are and decides _not_ to come to you? With your mother, not likely."

"Great…" Julie huffs, folding her arms across her chest. "The first thing she's gonna do when she walks through that door is yell at me."

"No, no she'll be alright. She was just scared is all; worried about you. She just wants to make sure you're alright."

"But I'm fine. I don't want her to come here and…"

"Ah, don't even finish that sentence because you and I both know it's not true. You _do_ want your mother here; you're just too stubborn to admit it."

Julie stares straight ahead, not wanting to give in to her father's accusations, no matter how right he may be.

After a moment she lets out a long breath. "You're right."

"About…?"

"I do want Mom here; I just…didn't want to admit it. I don't know how to talk to her about this."

"It'll get easier. The only thing you need to do is always remember how much she loves you."

* * *

It's a little over three hours later when there Julie hears a knock at the door. She's nervous, sitting in the corner of the couch picking at her thumbnail. In the distance she hears the sound of her parents' voices as her father opens the door.

"Hey hon," Eric pulls his tired-looking wife into a hug, which she gratefully melts into. "She's right in here."

"Oh Jules," Tami breathes, momentarily forgetting to be angry with her daughter. Julie stands up slowly, biting her lower lip. "Thank God you're alright. What in the world were you thinking?!" Tami's eyes are blazing, glossed over with a fresh coat of tears.

Julie opens her mouth to speak, but as soon as she brings her head up to look at her mother, all she can let out are sobs. Sobs she's been holding in for what feels like forever. Standing there, she immediately covers her face with her hands before Tami wraps her in an embrace.

"I…I'm sorry, Mom," Julie mutters into her mother's shoulder.

"Sweetheart…" Tami rubs her back.

"It just all got to be too much and I couldn't stay…I couldn't be in Dillon, in that house anymore last night. I shouldn't have left the way that I did, but I was just so mad and, I don't know…"

"Julie?" Her father walks up behind her and she pulls away to look at him. "Why don't you tell her what you just told me?"

"Oh-okay," Julie nods, sitting down next to her mother. "It hurt my feelings when you missed my recital yesterday," she whispers.

"Jules," Tami whispers, placing a hand on her daughter's back again. "Just because I'm having another baby doesn't mean I don't love you anymore, or think you don't matter anymore. And I'm sorry if some things came up that made you think that, or if…if _I_ made you think that." Tami takes in a deep breath, trying to hold in her emotions after hearing her daughter say she needed to get out of Dillon and away from her. The added hormones from the pregnancy don't help either.

"It's just, everything was changing so fast and it was like all I could do was sit back and watch," Julie looks up at her mother.

Eric moves to sit on her other side.

"Honey, _were_ you afraid this baby or your dad's new job were taking us away from you?" Tami asks carefully.

"Well Dad you're never home anymore, so…yeah," Julie wipes a tear from her cheek. "And I, I don't hate my baby sister but I just feel like everything I do gets in the way of something she needs, like…like a doctor's appointment. What am I supposed to do?" She asks exasperatedly.

"Well, for one thing I think what _we_ need to do as a family is be a little more open with each other, okay?" Tami tucks a lock of blonde hair behind Julie's ear.

"Okay," Julie responds quietly, nodding her head.

"And I know this job keeps me away from Dillon for longer than we'd like, but honey, we knew going into this that it would have to be like that. During the season and spring training, those are…those are gonna be times when I can't come home as much. It's unfortunate, but that's what we agreed on."

Correction, that's what _Tami_ agreed with herself on, Eric thinks to himself. He had no intention of leaving his family; yet his wife had no intention of leaving Dillon either.

"I know," Julie whispers. "And I…I promise to be more open with you guys. I shouldn't have run off like I did. It was wrong and I know you're gonna punish me so…"

"Julie, I think it goes without saying there will be consequences for what you did, but we can talk about that later," Tami says.

"Thanks," Julie sighs, giving her mother a small smile. "But…do you think it would be okay if we stayed in Austin? Just for today," she adds quickly.

Tami and Eric exchange glances, both knowing without words that staying in Austin, at least for today, would be what's best for their daughter. Yet what they both know deep down too is that staying together, not just right now in Austin, but permanently in Dillon, would be what's best for their entire family.

Nevertheless, neither of them says that aloud either.

"I think that would be just fine," Tami smiles softly at her daughter.

Julie sighs in relief, before letting out a small yawn.

"Yeah I can imagine you're tired," Tami notes.

"It's not that bad," Julie tells her, before looking over at her father. "I'm just…I'm glad we can all be together now."

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**Thanks so much for reading! It's been a pleasure writing for you FNL fandom. Reviews are always welcome :)**


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